On March 18, sophomore Dustin Suhr had just lifted his backpack to his shoulders when a roaring pain ripped through his back. He dropped his backpack to the floor and headed for the nurse, who recommended a day of rest.
Within a few days Suhr's back was no longer causing him pain. However, this incident has led him to be cautious of how much weight he crams into his backpack.
"I picked up my backpack and it just hurt real bad," said Suhr. "I can still carry my backpack. (That day) I brought all my library books and my Discman; now I just have two books and two notebooks.
"I know now that library books are a pain in the back."
Parents, such as sophomore Mike Gregory's mother, Maurine, have noticed students' sizable burdens as well.
"Every night when he comes home his backpack is completely full," said Maurine Gregory. "I think most of the kids get all their stuff in the morning and carry it around with them all day, instead of going to their lockers.
"I see him bring home his backpack and it's so big and looks heavy. At his age he's already complaining about his back. I think that might be one of the problems."
Parents and students are not the only ones worried about the physical stresses of backpacks.
The English department is considering the purchase of new literature books, but department chair Sue Brown has expressed concern about the weight.
According to Brown, the English department uses few anthologies in classes to begin with, and their excessive weight adds to the unlikelyhood of their purchase.
"As a parent I became very aware of the weight," said Brown. "I have two daughters that are small for their age É with the weight it may cause problems."
"In an anthology, perhaps less than 50 percent of the pages are necessary," said English teacher George Cowan. "And copyright laws don't allow us to copy individual pages for each student."
Among those in the medical profession, there is disagreement as to whether backpacks can cause physical damage.
According to Kalispell Orthopedic surgeon Ned Wilson, there is no scientific data on back pain being caused by a heavy backpack. The only problem that might occur in young adults is called Scheurmann's Kyphosis, which is a rounding of the spine due to poor posture.
"I have not seen kids come in specifically with back pain from backpacks," said Wilson. "I would not expect any problems" from heavy backpacks.
Wilson's advice to students who think a backpack is causing them trouble: "I would tell them to watch their posture. There can be a tendency when you wear your backpack to roll your shoulders. That's a postural problem, not the backpack."
Chiropractors, however, feel that severe back pain can be caused by carrying a heavy backpack.
If the student carries their backpack on one shoulder it may cause middle back and shoulder pain, said Whitefish chiropractor Stephen Pleasants.
"My advice for the backpack is to get one with thicker straps, closer to the neck and shoulders," he said. "This would help distribute the weight evenly.
"Girls would tend to have more problems than guys, because they're not built as big in the upper body," added Pleasants. "What (the guys) need to do is start carrying the girl's books. We need to start some chivalry up there."